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Cold Comfort
"Cold Comfort", the third episode of , is all about — as the name suggests — Mr. Freeze. Unlike the past, when his ultimate goal was to cure and be reunited with his wife, this time he is only bent on malicious and spiteful vengeance as a way to lash out against all humanity. Plot Act One At a museum in Gotham City, Jack Ryder – a local television reporter – is on hand to show the world the unveiling of a rare dinosaur, the Ultrasaurus, which is the culmination of thirty years of hard work by scientist Margaret Madsen. Just as they begin filming, some women in parkas oddly appear, and are quickly told they shouldn't be there. But, they are not alone; behind them is Mr. Freeze! He wastes no time in strutting up to Margaret, and declaring that it's a pity she will lose the treasure. Misunderstanding his intentions, she pleads that no archeological institution would procure stolen goods. He sets her straight and pulls out his freeze gun aiming it at the colossal skeleton. In a matter of ten seconds she witnesses thirty years of toil brought to oblivion. She cannot comprehend the motives of his malice and begs to know why he's committed this act, yet his reply is less than warming: "Why not?" takes out 'Twilight in Gotham']] A few days later, at the Gotham Tricentennial celebration (a black tie affair), Bruce and Commissioner Gordon are having a chin wag about that very incident involving the 'lizard'. They both are at a loss to rationalize his motivation. As the mayor opens the ceremonies, Bruce is bumped by a woman wearing a parka. Fully aware of the implications, he ditches the party and makes a b-line to Alfred, who he's just radioed, waiting with the Batsuit. Back in the ballroom, the mayor is unveiling a massive painting by Guiseppe Bianci, called 'Twilight in Gotham'. The artist himself is there to deliver a short speech, but just as he begins saying how much it means to him, the malevolent Mr. Freeze is there to disintegrate any joy he may have. Similarly to the dinosaur, he begins by admiring the work, commenting on the mastery of his technique, and then, just as Guiseppe starts to beg Freeze not to destroy it, he callously blasts it to shards. Unlike last time, however, he is not satisfied with the one incident of destruction, and turns his deadly ray to a woman's dog, announcing that all should beware of the things that they hold dear, for Mr. Freeze is on a crusade to eradicate it. Also unlike last time, the Dark Knight is on hand to block his rampage of ruination. Freeze orders his girls to get Batman, but his agility is too great and ends up dodging their attack and leaping onto the stage, right on top of Victor. Unexpectedly, Freeze grabs Batman by the neck and tosses him across the stage like a ragdoll. Getting up, one of the girls has him covered, or so she thinks; Batman uses his quick reflexes and faster mind to deflect her shot back at her. One down, several more to go. That chance, though, never comes as Freeze traps him point-blank with his weapon. Curiously, Victor relents and hints at his desire to rid himself of Gotham's hero in another fashion, and then just leaves, leaving behind a weeping artist and even more unanswered questions. being seen to by a team of doctors.]] Back at the Batcave, Bruce is having a pow-wow with Robin and Batgirl, with the latter filling in the former about Victor Fries, namely that his wife – Nora – has been revived, but he never made an effort to see her, and so she married another man. Somewhere else in the city, another meeting of the minds is taking place. In what appears to be a subterranean makeshift laboratory (and a very cold one at that) several doctors are seeing to Mr. Freeze. Judging by the fact that Freeze's girls have their guns out and pointed at them, it is clear that they are there against their will. Indeed, they tell Victor that his condition has been stabilized and there is nothing more that they can do for him, then insist that he lets them leave. Sternly and, dare one say, coldly, Mr. Freeze denies their demand and adds that they can and will only be released at his discretion. Freeze then gets up, passes the cowering doctors, and leaves them locked in the lab as he makes his way into another chamber. One of his 'henchgirls' asks him who is next on the list. 'Mr. Bruce Wayne' is the answer. Act Two Batgirl is running through a training course in the Batcave, displaying her amazing strength and dexterity. Nevertheless, in the end, she gets zapped by some lasers, and in a game meant to simulate real dangers, that would spell death. Bruce is very quick to bring that to her attention, keeping her excitement in check about setting the all-time high score. He not only tells her to continue practicing, but also raises the difficulty level from 6 to 10. He wanders upstairs, leaving her to her duties, and checks in on Tim, who's watching TV while he should be studying. He tries to reason with him, but Tim eventually gets the upper hand and Bruce is at a loss for words. blasts Alfred with his deadly freeze gun.]] Just then the doorbell rings, and it's trouble, spelled F-r-e-e-z-e. One of his henchwomen pushes Alfred down the ice covered stairs and Bruce runs to his side. Freeze then creepily glides down the same stairs (with pinpoint accuracy), while Alfred gets up and walks away. Bruce tries to rationalize with Victor, offering to apply his company's time to seek a cure, but Freeze simply says it's too late, and backhands Bruce into the sofa behind him. Clandestinely pushing a button on his watch, Bruce alerts Batgirl that there is trouble up above. Meanwhile, Victor, continuing his path of ire, points the gun at Tim, and then the 'surrogate father', Alfred. He begins blasting him from the feet up, and just as it gets chest high, Batgirl looms above to save the day. Then, mayhem. Tim and Bruce take care of his girls while she goes for Victor, managing not only to take his gun away from him, but also shooting him, plastering him against the wall! Needless to say, for a man who flung Batman like a stuffed toy, a bit of ice is not enough to hold him. He breaks free, and smashes through the wall, while one of his girls recovers his gun by bashing Tim and Barbara over the head with a block of ice. He summons the girls to come and they make haste for their van parked out front. No one is in any shape to give chase, but Batgirl does manage to lodge a tracer into the side of their vehicle. Act Three Alfred is enjoying a high-tech, rejuvenating Jacuzzi chemical bath. Moments later, the tracer turns up on the radar. Batman and Batgirl waste no time getting to the Batmobile. Naturally, Robin wants to go as well, but Batman insists he stay behind to look after Alfred, who sets Tim to work straight away making the tea. The tracer leads them to an old, abandoned meat packing plant, but no Mr. Freeze, despite being right on top of him (according to the tracker). Batman spots an entrance to a lower level, where Batgirl happens upon a spare Freeze suit, proving that he must be there somewhere. Just then, from an adjacent room, the muffled sounds of people struggling can be heard. He blasts the door open to see the three doctors tied up and hanging from meat hooks. After they're free, they immediately begin filling in Batman with all the details, but are suddenly halted by two of Freeze's dames. They're escorted back into the hallway and she calls for Freeze, who comes walking out, but not as they expected to find him: a spider like mechanical creature below Victor Fries' head. Batman's face reflects sympathy and astonishment as he inquires what happened, and Victor is more than willing to divulge: his body deteriorated and was only able to save his head. He goes on to say that his bodiless existence is the impetus for his not having contacted Nora and why he has sought to wreck havoc on any and all those around him. Climbing into his suit, he tells the three doctors they can go. The two Bats, on the other hand, cannot. Wishing the hero to feel an equivalant loss, the super villain reveals his ruthless plans to annihilate all of Gotham with a reverse fusion bomb. To guarantee that he sees the repercussions of such a weapon of mass destruction, he decides to leave master of several martial arts (and his protege) under the guard of two henchgirls. Not surprisingly, before the helicopter can leave the 'hanger', they are disarmed and Batman has launched his grappling hook into the base of the 'copter. shows Batman his amazing dexterity.]] Aboard the flying doom machine, Batman tries to creep up behind him, not realizing that his head is on a mechanical base and can swivel 180 degrees. A fight ensues and Batman is clearly out-muscled, so he has to rely on brains to get himself – and the rest of Gotham – out of the precarious situation. He kicks the yoke and the craft rises sharply into the sky, sending Freeze to the back. Then, he steers towards the water, but before he can do much else, Victor has him in his clutches, hoisting him above his head. Ingenuity doesn't fail Bruce as he launches his grappling hook at the bomb, then attaching the handle to the back of Mr. Freeze, and finally releasing the bomb into the water below. The results could not have been better choreographed as the bomb ignites in the water, creating a pillar of ice and a brief flurry of wind. Batgirl radios Batman and asks if everything is all right. Batman confirms and adds that he thinks that will be the end of Mr. Freeze, as he flies the helicopter past the pillar of ice which now encases Victor's suit; yet something is missing: the head! Continuity * Freeze's next (and last) appearance in the DCAU is the episode "Meltdown," where his head is being kept in storage by Wayne-Powers. How this came about is not explained in the animated continuity, but Batman Adventures (Vol 2) #15 (based on the continuity) explains that the head was acquired by Derek Powers's father. Background Information Production Inconsistencies *This episode has many placement inconsistencies: **At the beginning, when the man tells the girls in the parkas they can't be there, he steps towards them, away from the cameraman, but moments later, in another frame, we see him once more back next to the cameraman. **When Batman leaps at Mr. Freeze on stage, they slide back behind where the painting once was, but when Freeze tosses him, they are in front of the painting's (former) placement. **When Batgirl stumbles upon the Freeze suit, the hear the voices and run across the room (about seven running steps), yet when they come out, it's simply a narrow hallway that is barely five people wide. *When Batman first goes to the lower level, he needs to use his flashlight, but when he hears the voices (immediately after looking at the Freeze suit), he puts away his flashlight and runs across the room. Doesn't he still need it? *Freeze's suit changes in size between shots. *Doctor Madsen tells Freeze no-one would buy a stolen fossil; however, the Ultrasaurus is a skeleton, not a fossil. Trivia * Mr. Freeze's original character design for was done by Mike Mignola, at the request of Bruce Timm. Mignola's own comics feature at least two characters who exist as disembodied heads attached to robotic bodies: Herman von Klempt, a mad Nazi scientist whose head is kept in a glass jar, and The Amazing Screw-On Head. * Cree Summer and Lauren Tom would both appear together on several episodes of , as Maxine Gibson and Dana Tan, respecitively. Cast Quotes Category:The New Batman Adventures episodes Category:Episodes written by Hilary J. Bader